An AI deepfake version of Val Kilmer is set to star in a new film, with the blessing of the late actor’s family.
Kilmer died in April 2025 at the age of 65 due to pneumonia. He had previously been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but said he had made a full recovery.
Despite this, it appears that he will still be starring in a new film, titled As Deep As The Grave. He had been cast in the film as far back as 2020, but was too sick to be able to fulfil his commitments on the project.
Writer and director Coerte Voorhees has told Variety that he intends to use generative AI to restore Kilmer and put him in the role for which he was originally intended. Younger images of Kilmer will be used to produce the character, as well as footage from his final years, and Voorhees has confirmed that Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes and son Jack support the endeavour.
“His family kept saying how important they thought the movie was and that Val really wanted to be a part of this,” Voorhees has said. “He really thought it was an important story that he wanted his name on. It was that support that gave me the confidence to say, okay let’s do this. Despite the fact some people might call it controversial, this is what Val wanted.”
Kilmer will play Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, in an adaptation of the true story of archaeologists Ann and Earl Morris as they attempt to trace the history of the Navajo people. Harry Potter star Tom Felton, as well as Abigail Lawrie, Wes Studi and Abigail Breslin will lead the cast.
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Speaking about the Kilmer casting, Voorhees added: “He was the actor I wanted to play this role. It was very much designed around him. It drew on his Native American heritage and his ties to and love of the Southwest. I was looking at a call sheet the other day, and we had him ready to shoot. He was just going through a really, really tough time medically, and he couldn’t do it.”
Kilmer was best known for his roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever, Jim Morrison in The Doors, Lt. Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in Top Gun and Perry Van Shrike in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Prior to his death, Kilmer shot an intimate documentary titled Val, in which he shared his story about his battle with cancer and losing his voice. The documentary was released in 2021.
In the days following his death, Tom Cruise honoured his Top Gun co-star in Las Vegas, asking the crowd to join him in a moment of silence for Kilmer. “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.”
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him,” he added.
